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Russia is accusing Kyiv of trying to "strangle" separatist-held territories in eastern Ukraine by cutting off payments and shutting state institutions in the rebel-controlled areas.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeated Moscow's calls for the Ukrainian government to hold talks with the pro-Russian separatists who have seized parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces in a war that has killed more than 4,100 people since April.
Instead, Lavrov said, "Kyiv has set a course for the socioeconomic strangulation of southeastern Ukraine and is threatening to revive (efforts to) resolve the conflict by force."
Kyiv's moves are a response to elections held by the separatists on November 2, which Ukraine and the West condemned as an illegal violation of a September 5 peace plan, and what Kyiv says are Russian-supported military buildup by the rebels.
Lavrov, speaking at a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart in Minsk, also said Russia has always seen the European Union as a "big, important economic partner" and hopes the point of no return in ties with the EU has not been reached.
Based on reporting by Interfax, TASS, and AFP
Czech media report that President Milos Zeman -- whose perceived pro-Moscow actions and criticism of Western sanctions against Russia have contributed to a popular backlash that included a "red-card" protest yesterday -- has invited Vladimir Putin to Prague in January, along with the leaders of Britain, France, and the United States, to mark the liberation of Auschwitz (in Poland).
NATO chief Stoltenberg says there has been a "serious military buildup" in eastern Ukraine and on the Russian side of the border, calls on Russia to "pull back its troops and contribute to a peaceful agreement." -- Reuters/AFP